Method for maintaining swimming pools in alpha sanitary condition



June 10, 1930. R, M, SUTPHEN ET AL 1,762,314

METHOD FOR MAINTAINING SWIMMING FOOLS IN A SANITARY CONDITION 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 15, 1927 INVENTORS r/'L's'f June l0, 1930. R M, SUTPHEN ET AL 1,762,314

METHOD FOR MAINTAINING SWIMMING FOOLS IN A SANITARY CONDITION Filed Dec. 15, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mommy u Patented June l0, 1930 UNITED STATES ROBERT M. S'UTPHEN, OF

PATENT OFFICE NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ANI) JOHN FRANCIS IBOORAEM, OF GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT j Application led December 15, 1927. Serial No. 240,121. i

This invention relates to an improved method for maintaining swimming pools in a sanitary condition, and has for its primary object and purpose to provide such a method 5 which is especially applicable to a swimming pool structure of the kind shown and described in a co-pending application for pat- .'ent of J. Francis Booraem, filed of even date herewith.

As is well known, in the use pools, foreign impurities of various kinds more or less pollute the pool water, especially in out-door pools, and certain of said impurities float tothe surface, others remain suspended and still others are precipitated and collect in the form of a matted accumulation and scum upon the floor and side wall surfaces of the pool. Our new method is essentially characterized by the introduction into the pool water at the floor surface of properly distributed jets of air under pressure which, rising through the body of water in the form of bubbles of gradually increasing diameterV serve to maintain.` the water in an agitated state, projecting any foreign matters in the lower areas upwardly to the surface of the water. The air bubbles bursting at the water surface, create waves or undulations thereon,

which produces a skimming effect, directing the foreign impurities into the overflow gutters1 surrounding the upper margin of the o l It' is another feature of our new method to circulate the pool water through suitable filters and during such circulation to charge the water with a chlorine solution so as to destroysuch bacterial organisms as may be present therein. Thus, the collected impurities will be removed by the filters, and the pool water rendered substantially sterile, while by the admission of the air jets tothe pool, the vwater thereinY is also thoroughly aerated.

With the above and other objects in view,

' the invention consists in the improved method of maintaining swimming pools in a sanitary condition and in the several novel features thereof as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying of swimming drawings, and subsequently incorporated in' the subjoined claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein we have diagrammatically illustrated several examples of apparatus whereby our new' method may be carried out, and in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several v1ews,-

Figure l is a plan view of a swimming pool illustrating one embodiment of water yconditionmg and purifying apparatus as 4applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a vertical lonfritudinal sectional View illustrating another fbrm of one part of the apparatusy which may be employed, and

Fig. 3 is a plan view partly in section of the arrangement shown 1n Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, 5 designates the swimming pool which may be o'f any desired construction and of any predetermined dimensions, said pool being provided at the inner sides of its several Walls and at the upper edges thereof with the usual overflow gutters shown at 6.

The floor of the pool is provided with several sections ofdiiferent elevation so as to afford shallowand deep water sections and` at the lowest point of the pool floor and preferably in the longitudinal center line thereof, the water outlet or drain 7 is arranged with which the drain pipe or conduit 8 is con nected, saidl pipe having a suitable form of cut oill valvein'dicated at 9.

Y There is also incorporated in the poolffloor the twolongitudinally extending conduits 10 and 11 respectively, which are arranged in closely adjacent parallel relation to each other and have the semi-circular sections 12 and 13 positioned at opposite sides of the drain outlet 7. The water may be supplied to the pool by means of any desired type of pump indicated at 14, the water entering said pump through pipe 15. The outlet of the pump is connected by the pipe 16 with a lter unit 17, and preferably this filter unit is connected as at 18 with a second filter unit 19. From the latter filter unit, the water enters the pipe 20 in which a control valve 21 is arconnected as at 22 with the curved section 12 ofthe conduit'lO. This conduit has its upper surface flush with the surface of the p ool and a plurality of longitudinally Aspaced water outlets 23 open therethrough into the" pool.' The drain pipe 8 is also'connected to the 1ntake of the pump 14, and ad] acent to thepump a branch pipe 24 from said drain pipe 1s connected with a common discharge outlet for the pool gutters 6.

To the other of the condu1ts 11 compressed air is supplied through the pipe 25,*sa1cl pipe being connectedto the curved section 13 ofY the conduit and having a suitable control valve 26 interposed therein. Any desired type ofair compressor indicated at 27 may be used to supply air in the necessary volume under a predetermined pressure to the pipe line 25.

` The conduit 11 also has itsupper wallflush with the surface of the pool floor and pro-V vided with longitudinally spaced air outlet openings 28, preferably arranged opposite the respective water outlet openings .23 of the conduit l0.

As shown in Figs. 2vand 3 of the drawings, if preferred, instead of providing 'the sepa rate conduits 10 and 11, a single longitudinally extending conduit 29 may be arranged in the pool ioor having the outlet openings 30 in its' top wall, said conduit being connected with an annular head 31 at the low point of the pool through the center of which the pool water may be drained into the drain pipe 8. The pool water supplied by the .pump 14 enters this head through the pipe connection 20 while the air supply pipe shown at 25, has a circular section positioned in the head 31 and branches ,extending in opposite directions therefrom through the conduit 29. These air pipe sections are provided with longitudinally spaced outlet apertures 32 'in either one or both sides thereof so that the air` entering the conduit 30 under high pressure thoroughly aerates the water therein and passes upwardly with the water throughl the conduit outlets 30. In the use of either form of the apparatus above described, we preferabl charge the poolwater supplied through plpe -1-5 with a chlorine solution of predetermined strength which will not have an injurious eEect upon the 'bathers, and which has been found to be highly eective in destroying' bacterial organisms. l In thevoperation of the method, in filling the pool, the drain outlet valve 9 is of course,

closed while the valves 21 and 26 are opened.

The pump 14 and the air compressor 27 are then started in operation so that water and air will be simultaneously supplied under pressure. In the form of apparatus shown in Fig.1,`the Water and air enters the respective conduits 10 and 11 in the pool oor and as it passes upwardly through the spaced out- -let openings 1n the top wall of said conduits,

the air becomes thoroughly mixed with the water so that the latter is aerated or highly charged with oxygen. vAfter the pool has I been completely filled until the water overfiows into the gutter 6, by means of a suitable control-valve, the supply of water to the pump 14 may be decreased and properly regulated so as to maintain the pool filled to its highest level while in use. It will be understood that the overflow Water from the gutter 6 is also returned from the pump through the pipe connection 24, and as this water passes successively through the filter units 17 and 19, all impurities will be removed therefrom,

ter break or collapse. The air outlet openings, 28 are preferably so. spaced that these collapsing air bubbles at the waterV surface intersect each other. This is graphically represented by the circles shown at A in Figs. v I

2 and 3 of the drawings.- This results in the production on the surface of the Water of the waves', ripples or billows indicated by the broken lines B on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the pool, similar to such ripples as are seen when a stone or other object is dropped into water. These Waves or ripples proceed transversely from the point'of their initial occurrence upon the surface ofthe water to the opposite sides of the pool, thus causing the desired movement of the surface water whereby scum or other will be discharged into the overflow gutters 6.

bles in rising through thepool Water carry upwardly such foreign matters as may be present in the intermediate areas of the body of water between the surface thereof and the pool floor. This supply ofthe highly compressed air to the pool is continued for the desired length of time, until it is found by test that the water is substantially pure and it has also become again aerated. Also it is evident that this method of skimming, and cleansing the pool lwatermight likewise be carried on without great inconvenience to the bathers. At the end of each days use of the pool or any other desired intervals of time, the entire contents of the pool may be drained throu h the outlet7, passed through the fil- .ters 1 and 19 `and returned to the pool, and

. foreign matters which may be present therein thewater recharged with the chlorine solution. This circulation of the water may be continued for such length of time as may be found desirable. By Ymeans of our improved method of purification of the water, it is not necessary to discharge the water into a waste outlet and refill the pool frequently with fresh water, but this may be done only after long continued periods of use ofthe pool. Thus, our invention will result in a material saving or economy in the use of wafter, while likewise providing a reliablein-V surance against deleterious eects upon the health of the bathers owing to possible contamination of the pool water.

From the foregoing description considered in connection lwith the accompanying drawings, our'improved method of conditioning and purifying the watervof swimming pools will be clearly. and fully understood, and it will be evident that by means thereof the necessity of using other mechanical cleaning or scouring devices which must be manually controlled' and therefore require vconsiderable abor, is obviated. While we have suggested several forms of apparatus whereby our invention might be successfully practiced, it is apparent that the .essential features thereof might also be carried out through the medium of various other mechanical means. Accordingly, it is to be understood that in the adaptation of our new method to various different types of pool structures, we reserve the priv# 1. -A method ofhlemoving impurities fromthe water of a swimming ool which consists in injecting upwardly rom the floor of the pool a plurality of spaced jets of air to thereby produce a multiplicity of ascending charge of the water into the pool subjecting the same to the action of compressed air and admitting compressed air into the water in the pool.

3. The method of conditioning the water of a swimming pool which consists in supplying the water charged with a chlorine solution to the pool under pressure and at the point of discharge of the water and chlorine solution into the pool, subjecting the same to the action of compressed air and admitting compressed air into the water in the pool 4. The method of conditioning the water of a swimming pool which consists in supplying the water charged with a chlorine solution to the pool under pressure and at the point of discharge of the water and chlorine solution into the pool, subjecting the same to the action of compressed air and admitting `compressed air into the water in the pool, and

collecting the overflow water from the pool, passing the same through one or more filter units and delivering the same into the pool at the floor thereof.

In testimony that they claim the foregoing asA their invention, they have signed their `names hereto.

ROBERT M. SUIPHEN. JOHN FRANCIS BOORAEM.

groupsof lair bubbles of gradually increasing diameter, said air jets being so spaced relative to the depth of the pool as to cause the larger air bubbles at the surface of the Water to intersect and upon collapse to produce waves or undulations of the water progressing towards the opposite sides of the pool to direct the collected impurities into the overflow gutters of the pool.

2. The method of conditioning the water of a swimmin pool which consists in draining the water rom a bottom outlet of the pool and forcing the same under pressure through one 4or more filter units and returning the filtered water to the pool and delivering the same into the pool and at the point of dis- 

